The creation of a floor plan, map, model or other such graphical representation of an existing space requires a representation of the spatial relationship between coordinate points of objects within the space, such as two walls of a room. The spatial relationship between coordinate points of objects has been traditionally measured by hand or with the help of tools that measure the distance between two points. These distances are then typically input into a computerized program that uses them to create the floor plan or may be used to draw the floor plan by hand. One example of a computer integrated floor plan system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,862, which is fully incorporated herein by reference. Although the computer helps to produce accurate floor plans from the measured distances, using two people to obtain point by point measurements is often time-consuming.
Telemetric spatial recorders have been designed to allow operation by a single operator and thus facilitate the process of obtaining distance measurements for use in creating a floor plan. One type of conventional telemetric spatial recorder uses a base module and a remote module linked through an extendable cable. Examples of telemetric spatial recorders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,675,514 and 5,956,661, which are fully incorporated herein by reference. Although the telemetric spatial recorders can obtain distance measurements with a single operator, these recorders are stationary when measuring distances and additional time is required to move the telemetric spatial recorder to a new location. When existing fixed measurement devices are moved to a new space, the drawing of the new space must typically be hand aligned with drawings of previous spaces. The existing methods measure wall to wall or room by room, without automatically orienting the relationships between various building parts or spaces.
Mobile robots have been used in modeling and characterizing hazardous spaces. Examples of such mobile robots are disclosed in greater detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,936,240 and 6,314,341, which are fully incorporated herein by reference. These mobile robots are unnecessarily complex and expensive, however, for use in creating a floor plan or map of a non-hazardous location. Moreover, such mobile robots are difficult to drive and require significant practice to operate effectively.
Accordingly, there is a need for a spatial data collection apparatus capable of use by a single operator to quickly and easily collect spatial data from many locations within an existing space for use in creating a 2-D or 3-D graphical representation of the space. There is also a need for a spatial data collection apparatus capable of automating both the measurement of objects within a space and the orientation of the objects in relationship to each other.